John Rutter: The Beatles Concerto Context Although largely known for his choral and vocal works, John Rutter has also composed an interesting collection of orchestral works. His three movement concerto for two pianos: The Beatles Concerto, is based on various Beatles songs. The style of this work is reminiscent of the romantic and Read more…
Antonio Vivaldi: The Four Seasons Context Antonio Vivaldi composed his ever-popular collection of violin concerti The Four Seasons around the year 1721. The conception of what we can now deduce as an early form of programme music was revolutionary in the Baroque period. It has been speculated that the music from each Read more…
Felix Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto in E minor Felix Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto in E minor is a thrilling three-movement work that has become a staple piece for violinists all around the world. In the midst of the ‘changeover’ between classicism and romanticism, this work sees Mendelssohn at his best, writing with firm Read more…
Béla Bartók – Concerto for Orchestra Context Béla Bartók’s Concerto for Orchestra is a five-movement piece of orchestral music that was written in 1943. Born in Hungary in 1881, Bartók is another composer who showed potential from a young age. Able to distinguish dance themes from a young age, his mother started Read more…
Dearest readers, I apologise for the lack of blogs in the past month, I am still trying to find a golden balance with my work load. I feel like I am nearly there now, so hopefully blogs will return to being published more regularly. To celebrate the next Sheffield Philharmonic Read more…
Amy Beach: Piano Concerto in C# Minor Context Amy Beach was born in 1867 in New Hampshire. It has been extensively documented that Beach was a child prodigy when it came to music performance. Records say that she was able to sing forty songs by the time she was one. Read more…
Dearest classical music fans, thank you for your continued support and consistent views it has put classicalexburns on the map after a recent ranking of 5th ‘Best Music Blog’ by ScoreBig! After nearly a month with no internet in my new house, it has finally been installed and I am Read more…
Dearest readers, I must apologize for having gone awol the past couple of days, life has happened and I’m now catching up on my Female Fortnight Challenge so do bear with me! For day 11 I am writing about the incredibly popular American composer, Jennifer Higdon and her very exciting Percussion Read more…
Hello dearest readers, here we are on day 9 of my Female Fortnight Challenge 2.0! For today’s blog I will be looking in the late avant-garde composer, Ursula Mamlok and her fantastic Concerto for Oboe – enjoy! Born on February 1st, 1923, Ursula Mamlok was born in Berlin, Germany into a primarily Read more…
Hello readers! Welcome to blog 5 of my Female Fortnight Challenge and today we are coming into the 21st Century with a composer I am extremely fond of – Keiko Abe! This percussion giant has pushed the boundaries of tuned percussion composition for decades, and I am so very happy Read more…